NVIDIA’s Hopper & Ampere AI GPUs See Price Spikes of Up To 316% in China With No Guarantee Of Even Securing a GPU
Mydrivers reports that Chinese consumers are having a hard time attaining NVIDIA’s A800 and H100 GPUs. It has been said that the prices of these GPUs has shot up significantly. To make matters worse, you must have special relations with NVIDIA or Jensen, the man himself, to secure yourself a Hopper/Ampere GPU.
NVIDIA’s $1 Trillion Market Cap
NVIDIA’s market cap broke the trillion-dollar threshold a while back. This was thanks to NVIDIA’s prominent role in the GPU market, more specifically, the AI industry. Currently, as of June 29th, team green’s market cap sits at a comfortable 1.15$ Trillion. That is nothing to scoff at.
NVIDIA has been at the forefront of the AI market. The company not only makes high-end GPUs for enthusiasts but also powers large data centers with its professional Hopper and Ampere GPUs. The AI sector exploded, and so did NVIDIA.
A 316% Increase in Prices
We are all familiar with the concept of demand and supply, right? Well, due to the AI revolution, the market is in dire need of more high-performance GPUs, which coincidentally are mostly supplied by NVIDIA.
Based on reports, the A800 and H800 which originally used to cost 120,000 Yuan (16.7k$) now cost 250,000 / 300,000 and even 500,000 Yuan (70k$). This is an almost 316% increase in pricing, which is very significant for consumers in China.
Special Relations With Jensen
Furthermore, mydrivers claims that this absurd pricing is only applicable if you can find a GPU in the first place. Put simply, manufacturers need to have special relations or contacts with Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA.
Given the US sanctions on China, the Chinese market entirely depends on NVIDIA for any leeway. As such, the company made tweaked variants of the A100 and the H100, termed the A800 and the H800. Of course, these GPUs do comply with the restrictions. Although, NVIDIA is forced to make special SKUs for a single country so there can be logistical challenges.
How Long Before Things Settle?
The million-dollar question is, well you’ve already read the heading but when will things get better? First off, the AI market can implode, much like it exploded in the first place. While this is just a theory, without a doubt, NVIDIA’s position is strengthened and established by AI predominantly. Should this market face bumps, Jensen’s empire may tumble.
On the other hand, Intel is bringing its Gaudi2 AI Accelerators to China, diversifying the market and opening up choices for consumers. Moreover, China has already succeeded in making GPUs, although we would not recommend you to buy one, yet. Here’s Why.
Give it some time and much like Arc, once Chinese companies have developed adequate software to support their hardware, your next build might be equipped with a GPU from Moore Threads, maybe?
Source: mydrivers
